JP5481692B2 - Material feeder - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a material feeding apparatus suitable for intermittently feeding a long material such as a plate material or a wire material into a processing machine such as a press machine at a predetermined feeding amount.

  Some conventional material feeding apparatuses include a transfer gripper and a fixed gripper (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). The transfer gripper includes a sliding block that is movable along the conveyance path. A fixed jaw is fixedly supported on the sliding block, and a movable jaw that operates to clamp and release the material in cooperation with the fixed jaw is supported. The sliding blocks that support both the jaws reciprocate in the transport path by the operation of the operating device, and the movable jaw sandwiches or releases the material between the movable jaws in synchronization with the reciprocating motion. To work.

  The material feeding device intermittently supplies the material to the processing machine intermittently by repeating the operation of the transfer gripper. In addition, the material feeding device enables more accurate quantitative supply in cooperation with the transfer gripper described above and the fixed gripper that holds the material when the transfer gripper releases the material.

  In general, an oscillating drive mechanism that converts rotational motion into swing motion is used as an operating device that reciprocates the sliding block of the transfer gripper along the transport path.

  In these oscillating drive mechanisms, the swing arm of the drive mechanism is operatively connected to the slide block via a connection mechanism, and the swing of the swing arm is passed through the connection mechanism to the slide block. It is converted into reciprocating motion. Therefore, the stroke of the movable block is determined according to the effective length of the swing arm determined by the coupling point between the swing arm and the coupling mechanism connector. Therefore, the effective length of the oscillating arm can be adjusted by adjusting the coupling point between the connector of the coupling mechanism and the oscillating arm in the longitudinal direction of the oscillating arm. The stroke of the transport gripper can be adjusted to an optimum value by adjusting the effective length of the swing arm.

  By the way, the stroke of the transfer gripper may need to be adjusted according to the operating state of the processing machine, for example. However, as described above, in order to change the effective length of the oscillating arm of the oscillating drive mechanism in order to adjust the stroke of the transfer gripper, the connector of the coupling mechanism that oscillates integrally with the oscillating arm is used. An operation of moving along the swing arm is required. Therefore, in order to smoothly change the effective length of the swing arm described above, it is necessary to first stop the motion of the swing arm that swings. Therefore, in any of the conventional material feeding apparatuses, when it is necessary to adjust the stroke of the transfer gripper, it is necessary to interrupt the operation of the material feeding apparatus.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 60-27549 Japanese Patent No. 3874554

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to make it possible to adjust the stroke of the transfer gripper of the material feeding device without interrupting the operation of the material feeding device.

A material feeding device according to the present invention includes a sliding block movable along a material conveying path, an actuator for reciprocating the sliding block along the conveying path, and a fixed to the sliding block. A fixed jaw supported; and a movable jaw supported by the sliding block and operable to clamp and release the material in cooperation with the fixed jaw in synchronization with the reciprocating motion of the sliding block. Includes transfer gripper. The actuating device has a swing shaft arranged in a direction perpendicular to the transport path, and a cam groove extending in a radial direction of the swing shaft is formed on a swing surface perpendicular to the swing shaft. A swing member and a link member provided at one end with a link shaft disposed in parallel to the swing shaft and a support shaft at the other end provided with a support shaft parallel to the swing shaft. In order to reciprocate the sliding block along the transport path with movement, one end of the link shaft is engaged with the cam groove so as to be guided by the cam groove, and the other end of the link shaft Includes a link member that engages with the sliding block, and an adjustment mechanism that adjustably moves the support shaft of the link member toward and away from the swinging shaft. It comprises a feed screw mechanism having a female screw member for supporting a support shaft. .

  In the material feeding device according to the present invention, one end of the link shaft of the link member is received in the guide groove of the swing member, and the link member is statically held when the swing member swings. The link shaft is swung around the support shaft. Since the other end of the link shaft engages with the sliding block, the sliding block reciprocates along the conveying path according to the swing angle of the link member. Further, when the distance between the support shaft and the swing shaft is adjusted by operating the adjustment mechanism, the link shaft slides in the guide groove of the swinging swing member according to the adjustment amount. Therefore, the swing angle of the link member changes. Accordingly, the swing angle of the link member can be changed without interrupting the swing motion of the swing member.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, the rocking angle of the link member can be adjusted regardless of the rocking motion of the rocking member, whereby the transfer of the material can be performed without interrupting the operation of the material feeding device. The gripper stroke can be adjusted.

  The adjustment mechanism includes a male screw member whose rotation axis is arranged along a virtual line connecting the swing shaft and the support shaft, and a female screw member that is screwed into the male screw member and supports the support shaft. can do. In this case, it is possible to adjust the support position of the support shaft supported by the male screw member by rotating the male screw member, that is, to adjust the stroke of the transfer gripper.

  The male screw member has a rotation axis extending in a direction perpendicular to the transport path, and the support shaft has an axis perpendicular to both the transport path and the extension direction of the rotation axis of the male screw member. Can be arranged.

  The adjusting mechanism may be configured by a ball screw provided with a holder portion for holding a rolling ball between the male screw member and the female screw member, and thereby the transfer by the smoother rotation operation of the male screw member. It is possible to adjust the smooth stroke of the gripper.

  The link member includes a link member including a first bearing portion that accommodates the link shaft so that both ends of the link shaft can protrude, and an arm portion that protrudes in a radial direction of the bearing portion from a substantially central portion of the bearing portion. The second bearing portion parallel to the first bearing portion can be formed at the tip of the arm portion. The female screw member may be a female screw member that receives both ends of the second bearing portion and is provided with a bifurcated portion that supports both ends of the support shaft.

  According to the present invention, as described above, since the support position of the support shaft that is statically supported by the link member can be adjusted by the adjustment mechanism, the operation of the material feeding device can be performed without interruption. The swing angle of the link member that determines the reciprocating stroke of the sliding block can be adjusted. Therefore, it is possible to adjust the stroke of the transfer gripper of the material feeding device without interrupting the operation of the material feeding device and without causing the processing machine to be interrupted due to the interruption of the material feeding device.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing a material feeding device according to the present invention, It is sectional drawing obtained along the II-II line | wire shown in FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing obtained along the IV-IV line | wire shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing obtained along the VV line shown in FIG. It is a side view of the material feeder shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VII-VII shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the cam plate of a 3rd operating device roughly, FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IX-IX shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between the guide member of the material feeding apparatus which concerns on this invention, and its bearing.

  A material feeder 10 according to the present invention is shown in longitudinal section in FIG. The material feeding device 10 is used to intermittently and quantitatively supply a long strip material such as a metal plate material to a processing machine such as a press machine. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, a material feeding apparatus 10 according to the present invention has a rectangular frame 12 as a whole, and a guide member 14 supported by the frame and arranged along the conveying direction of the material (FIG. 1 and 2), and a drive cam shaft 16 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) supported by the frame and disposed along the conveying direction of the material. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 2, 4, 5, and 6, the guide members 14 are arranged near the upper portion in the frame 12 in parallel with each other. Each of the pair of guide members 14 includes a main shaft portion 14 a that has a circular cross-sectional shape and cuts through the frame 12. Details of the form of the guide member 14 and the support structure to the frame 12 will be described later.

  The drive camshaft 16 is disposed below the pair of guide members 14 in the frame 12 as shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 6, and through the bearings 18a and 18b as shown in FIG. The frame 12 is rotatably supported. One end of the drive cam shaft 16 protrudes from the frame 12 through a bearing 18a. A pulley 20 is fixed to the projecting end of the drive camshaft 16, and a driving torque from a drive source is transmitted to the pulley via a circulation belt (not shown). Due to this driving rotational force, the driving cam shaft 16 rotates in either one of the clockwise direction and the counterclockwise direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a transfer gripper 22 and a fixed gripper 24 are provided on the main shaft portion 14 a of the guide member 14. The table 12a of the frame 12 is provided with openings 26a and 26b for the transfer gripper 22 and the fixed gripper 24, respectively. The opening 26a for the transfer gripper 22 has a size sufficient to allow reciprocation along the guide member 14 of the transfer gripper 22 described below. On the other hand, as will be described later, the opening 26b for the stationary gripper 24 operating in the stationary position has a dimension along the guide member 14 smaller than that of the opening 26a.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the transfer gripper 22 includes a slide block 28 slidably supported on the main shaft portion 14a, and a first actuator 30 that reciprocates the slide block along the main shaft portion 14a. And a fixed jaw 32 and a movable jaw 34 supported by the sliding block 28, and a second actuating device 36 for operating the movable jaw. The sliding block 28 is provided with a gate-type column portion 28a (see FIGS. 2 and 6) that rises from the sliding block through the opening 26a to the upper side of the table 12a, and is fixed to a substantially central portion of the portal-type column portion. The jaw 32 is fixed. A movable jaw 34 is disposed on the sliding block 28 so as to face the fixed jaw 32. As is well known in the art, the movable jaw 34 is supported by the sliding block 28 so as to be movable toward and away from the fixed jaw 32. A roller 38 that functions as a connector with the second actuator 36 is supported at the lower end of the movable jaw 34.

Prior to the description of the first operating device 30 and the second operating device 36, the fixed gripper 24 having the same basic structure as the transfer gripper 22 except for the operating devices 30 and 36 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the fixed gripper 24 operates a stationary block 40 fixedly supported by the main shaft portion 14a, a fixed jaw 42 and a movable jaw 44 supported by the stationary block, and the movable jaw. And a third actuating device 46. The stationary block 40 is provided with a gate-type column portion 40a that rises from the stationary block through the opening 26b to the upper side of the table 12a, and a fixed jaw 42 is fixed to a substantially central portion of the portal-type column portion. A movable jaw 44 is disposed on the stationary block 40 so as to face the fixed jaw 42. The movable jaw 44 is supported by the stationary block 40 so as to be movable toward and away from the fixed jaw 42 as in the transfer gripper 22 described above. A roller 48 functioning as a connector with 46 is supported.

  An outline of the third actuator 46 of the stationary gripper 24 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 4. The third actuating device 46 includes a cam mechanism having a swing lever 52. The swing shaft 50 (see FIG. 4) of the swing lever 52 is disposed in parallel to the main shaft portion 14a of the guide member 14, and the swing lever 52 receives a roller 48 on the upper surface of one end thereof. The lower surface of the one end of the swing lever 52 receives a biasing force toward the upper side of the compression spring 56 through the roller 54. The biasing force of the compression spring 56 applies a pressing force toward the fixed jaw 42 to the movable jaw 44 via the one end of the swing lever 52 as is well known. At the other end of the swing lever 52, a driven roller 52a (see FIG. 4) that functions as a cam follower of the cam mechanism 46 is provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 3, 7 and 8, the driving cam shaft 16 is provided with first and second cam plates 60 a and 60 b for the third operating device 46. As is well known in the art, the first cam plate 60a is a cam plate for operating the movable jaw 44 to hold the material by the fixed gripper 24 while the transfer gripper 22 releases the material. It is. The cam plate 60a is fixed to the drive cam shaft 16 in order to operate the swing lever 52 by the rotation of the drive cam shaft 16, and the peripheral surface of the cam plate 60a becomes a cam surface for the driven roller 52a. As is well known in the art, the second cam plate 60b is a cam plate for forcibly releasing the holding operation of the fixed gripper 24, and the peripheral surface serving as the cam surface for the driven roller 52a is forced on the peripheral surface. A protrusion 62 (see FIG. 8) for release is provided.

  The operation of the first cam plate 60a will be described with reference to FIG. 4. As is well known, the driven roller 52a follows the cam surface of the cam plate as the cam plate 60a rotates. According to the shape of the cam surface of the first cam plate 60a, when the one end of the swing lever 52 overcomes the biasing force of the compression spring 56 and pushes down the roller 54, the swing lever 52 swings. The movable jaw 44 moves away from the fixed jaw 42 because the biasing force of the compression spring 56 is released. In order to promote the downward movement of the movable jaw 44, an auxiliary compression spring 64 is inserted between the stationary block 40 and the movable jaw 44.

  Due to the biasing force of the auxiliary compression spring 64, the movable jaw 44 moves reliably to its bottom dead center position. Accordingly, with the rotation of the cam plate 60a of the third actuator 46 described above, the movable jaw 44 moves between the top dead center position closest to the fixed jaw 42 and the bottom dead center position farthest from the fixed jaw 42. Move up and down. Thereby, the fixed gripper 24 clamps the material in cooperation with the fixed jaw 42 when the movable jaw 44 is at the top dead center position at the stationary position corresponding to the opening 26b, and clamps the material at or near the bottom dead center position. Operates to release material.

  The second actuating device 36 for actuating the movable jaw 34 of the transfer gripper 22 includes a cam plate 66 fixed to the drive cam shaft 16 as shown in FIGS. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the roller 38 of the transfer gripper 22 is placed on one end of a swing lever 68 similar to that in the fixed gripper 24. Further, the lower surface of the one end of the swing lever 68 receives a biasing force toward the upper side of the compression spring 72, which is a biasing member, through the same roller 70 as in the fixed gripper 24. The other end of the swing lever 68 is provided with a follower roller 68a (see FIG. 7) similar to that provided on the swing lever 52. The follower roller uses the peripheral surface of the cam plate 66 as a cam surface and the cam surface. Follow.

  Accordingly, the movable jaw 34 of the transfer gripper 22 is located at the top dead center position closest to the fixed jaw 32 and the fixed jaw 32 by the swing of the swing lever 68 accompanying the rotation of the cam plate 66 as in the fixed gripper 24. It moves up and down between the bottom dead center position farthest from the center. An auxiliary compression spring (not shown) similar to that in the stationary gripper 24 is also provided between the sliding block 28 of the transfer gripper 22 and the movable jaw 34 to reliably move the movable jaw to the bottom dead center position. Has been inserted.

  The basic differences between the second actuating device 36 for the transfer gripper 22 and the third actuating device 46 for the stationary gripper 24 are as follows. That is, the second actuating device 36 is not provided with a second cam plate such as the second cam plate 60b, and is merely provided with a single cam plate 66. Further, the one end of the swing lever 68 that receives the roller 38 of the movable jaw 34 extends along the extending direction of the guide member 14 corresponding to a sliding stroke of the sliding block 28 described later. Therefore, the roller 38 of the movable jaw 34 rolls on the end portion of the guide member 14 without dropping from the one end as the slide block 28 slides. Regardless, the transfer gripper 22 is provided with a reliable opening / closing operation accompanying the rotation of the cam plate 66. Further, the cam plate 66 of the transfer gripper 22 and the first cam plate 60a of the fixed gripper 24 are basically fixed when the transfer gripper 22 is holding the material as is well known in the art. A fixed gripper 24 is attached to the drive camshaft 16 so that the gripper 24 releases the material and the transfer gripper 22 releases the material.

  Hereinafter, the three characteristic points of the material feeding apparatus 10 according to the present invention will be sequentially described. First, the first actuator 30 that reciprocates the sliding block 28 along the main shaft portion 14a of the guide member 14 disposed along the material conveyance direction will be described. Thereafter, details of the third actuator 46 and the guide member 14 and the support mechanism for the guide member to the frame 12 will be described in detail.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the first actuating device 30 is disposed along a roller gacam 74 (see FIG. 3) fixed to the drive cam shaft 16 (see FIG. 3) and the conveyance path. A circular turret 76 having a vertical pivot 76a (see FIG. 1) disposed in a perpendicular relationship with the guide member 14 and having a swing axis, a swing member 78 provided on the turret, and one end of the swing member Are connected to each other, and an adjustment mechanism 82 is connected to the other end of the link member.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the turret 76 is provided with a pair of cam followers 76 b that engage with the cam grooves 74 a of the roller gear cam 74, and the turret 76 swings around the pivot 76 a by the rotation of the drive cam shaft 16. . The turret 76 has a surface 76c substantially parallel to a horizontal plane including the guide member 14, and a swing member 78 is fixed on the surface. The swinging member 78 extends on the surface 76c of the turret 76 across the extension line of the pivot 76a and extends in the radial direction of the swinging shaft 76a of the turret 76. Therefore, the swing member 78 swings around the pivot 76a as a swing shaft integrally with the swing of the turret 76. The swing member 78 has a U-shaped cross section that opens upward, whereby a guide groove 78a is formed in the longitudinal direction thereof.

  As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the link member 80 is a first vertical bearing portion that rotatably receives a link shaft 84 that is disposed in a vertical direction parallel to the extension line of the swing shaft 76 a. This is a T-shaped link member (see FIG. 2) consisting of 80a and an arm portion 80b extending in the radial direction from the central portion of the vertical bearing portion. A second bearing portion 80c (see FIG. 2) that receives a support shaft 86 parallel to the link shaft 84 is provided at the tip of the arm portion 80b. At the upper end of the link shaft 84 provided at one end of the link member 80, a slider 84a that is received in an engagement hole 28b formed in the lower surface of the slide block 28 is provided.

  The engagement hole 28b for receiving the slider 84a has a length L extending in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the guide member 14, as clearly shown in FIG. The length L is set to a length sufficient to allow the link shaft 84 of the link member 80 to swing according to the swing of the swing member 78 described later. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, the dimension W of the engagement hole 28b along the longitudinal direction of the guide member 14 is set so as to receive the slider 84a within a manufacturing tolerance. A slider 84 b that is received in the guide groove 78 a of the swing member 78 is provided at the lower end of the link shaft 84.

  A support shaft 86 provided at the other end of the link member 80 is supported by a female screw member 82 b that is screwed into the male screw member 82 a of the adjustment mechanism 82. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the female screw member 82 b supports both ends of the support shaft 86 at its bifurcated portion 90. The male screw member 82a is disposed in the horizontal direction as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, and is rotatably supported by the frame 12 via bearings 88a and 88b (see FIG. 3). 14 axes and the axis of the turret 76 and the axis of the support shaft 86 are arranged at right angles. One end of the male screw member 82a protrudes out of the frame 12 through one bearing 88a, and the support shaft 86 of the link member 80 is moved closer to or away from the pivot shaft 76a of the turret 76 by rotating the protruding end. Can be moved to.

  It is preferable to use a ball screw for the combination of the male screw member 82a and the female screw member 82b. According to the ball screw, the female screw member 82b is provided with a holder portion that holds a rolling ball between the male screw member 82a and the female screw member 82b, and the rolling ball causes friction between the screw members 82a and 82b. As a result, the male screw member 82a can be smoothly rotated. Therefore, fine adjustment between the support shaft 86 of the link member 80 and the pivot 76a of the turret 76 can be easily performed.

In the material feeding device 10 according to the present invention, one end of the link shaft 84 provided in the link member 80 of the first actuating device 30 is received in the guide groove 78a of the swinging member 78 via the slider 84b. The other end of the link shaft 84 is engaged with the engagement hole 28b of the slide block 28 via the slider 84a . Therefore, when the swing member 78 swings around the pivot 76a as the turret 76 swings, the link member 80 swings around the support shaft 86, and the link member 80 swings about the link shaft. It is converted into a reciprocating motion along the main shaft portion 14a of the sliding block 28 by the engagement between the engaging block 84 and the engaging hole 28b.

  The stroke of the reciprocating motion of the sliding block 28 is determined by the swing angle of the link member 80, and the swing angle of the link member 80 is between the pivot 76 a that is the swing center of the swing member 78 and the link member 80. It changes in accordance with the distance from the support shaft 86 that is the center of oscillation. By rotating the male screw member 82a of the adjustment mechanism 82, the distance can move the female screw member 82b supporting the support shaft 86 along the male screw member. Further, since the link shaft 84 can be slid along the guide groove 78a of the swinging swinging member 78 in accordance with the operation of the adjusting mechanism 82, the operation of the material feeding device 10 is not interrupted. The stroke of the sliding block 28, that is, the transport stroke of the transfer gripper 22 can be adjusted appropriately.

  The cam members 60 a, 66, and 74 fixed to the drive cam shaft 16 synchronize the holding and releasing operation of the material of the transfer gripper 22 and the fixed gripper 24 and the transfer stroke along the transfer direction of the transfer gripper 22. Is achieved as in the prior art.

  As a mechanism for oscillating the oscillating member 78, various motion conversion mechanisms that convert the rotational motion into the oscillating motion can be applied instead of the roller Gacam 74 and the turret 76 described above.

  Next, details of the third actuating device 46 will be described mainly with reference to FIGS. 3, 7, 8 and 9.

  As described above, the third actuator 46 includes the second cam plate 60b for forcibly releasing the holding operation of the fixed gripper 24 in addition to the first cam plate 60a provided on the drive cam shaft 16. Further, an adjusting mechanism 92 is provided for adjusting the rotational phase angle with respect to the first cam plate 60a by rotating the second cam plate.

  The adjustment mechanism 92 is disposed in the axial direction of the drive camshaft 16 at a distance from the second cam plate 60b, and rotates from the first gear 92a integrally with the drive camshaft 16, and from the first gear. A second gear 92b that rotates integrally with the second cam plate 60b is provided between the first gear 92a and the second cam plate 60b at an interval in the axial direction of the drive cam shaft 16. In the illustrated example, the second cam plate 60b is coaxially fixed to the boss portion of the second gear 92b. The first and second gears 92a and 92b are a pair of bevel gears having the same number of teeth and the same diameter, and their tooth surfaces are arranged to face each other with a space therebetween.

A sleeve member 94 is rotatably fitted to the drive cam shaft 16 between a pair of bevel gears 92a and 92b. As shown in FIG. 9, the sleeve member 94 has a tooth portion 94a at a part of its outer periphery, and a flat region so that the region excluding the tooth portion serves as a support portion for the rotating shaft 94c. 94b is formed. A rotating shaft 94c for the third gear 92c is supported on the flat region 94b. The rotating shaft 94c provided in the flat region 94b is disposed at right angles to the drive cam shaft 16, and the third gear 92c supported by the rotating shaft 94c is viewed from the rotating shaft 94c as shown in FIG. Thus, one side meshes with the first gear 92a and the other side meshes with the second gear 92b.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the tooth portion 94 a of the sleeve member 94 meshes with a worm 96 b provided on the operation shaft 96 a of the rotary operation device 96. The operation shaft 96a is rotatably supported by the frame 12 by bearings 98a and 98b, and one end thereof protrudes from the frame 12 through the bearing 98a. As long as the worm 96b is not rotated around its axis by rotating the protruding end of the operation shaft 96a, the rotation shaft 94c of the third gear 92c is held in a stationary position. Therefore, when the first gear 92a is rotated by the drive rotation of the drive camshaft 16, the rotation of the gear is transmitted to the second gear 92b via the third gear 92c, whereby the second gear is The gear 92a rotates in the opposite direction to the gear 92a at a constant speed.

  On the other hand, since the first cam plate 60a is fixed to the drive cam shaft 16 and rotates integrally with the cam shaft, the second cam plate fixed to the gear by the rotation of the second gear 92b described above. 60b rotates in the reverse direction at the same speed as the first cam plate 60a. As a result, for example, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 8, for each rotation of both cam plates 60a and 60b, the protrusion 62 of the second cam plate 60b swings at a predetermined angular position with respect to the first cam plate 60a. The moving lever 52 is operated to forcibly release the fixed gripper 24 temporarily.

  Regardless of the operation of the drive cam shaft 16, when the worm 96b is rotated by the rotation operation of the operation shaft 96a, the rotation shaft 94c of the third gear 92c rotates around the drive cam shaft 16 in accordance with the rotation of the worm. . When the rotation shaft 94c rotates around the drive cam shaft 16, the facing relationship between the first gear 92a and the second gear 92b is shifted according to the rotation, and as a result, the rotation of both cam plates 60a and 60b. Since the phase angle is deviated, the position of the protrusion 62 of the second cam plate 60b with respect to the cam plate changes for each rotation of the first cam plate 60a, as indicated by a virtual line in FIG.

  Therefore, the operation of the material feeding device 10 is interrupted because the rotation phase of the first and second cam plates 60a, 60b can be changed without interrupting the rotation of the drive camshaft 16 by operating the adjusting mechanism 92. The forced release operation point of the fixed gripper 24 can be adjusted without incurring any trouble.

  As described above, the example in which the first cam plate 60a is rotated integrally with the drive cam shaft 16 and the second cam plate 60b is rotatably supported by the drive cam shaft 16 has been described. A configuration in which the second cam plate 60 b is rotated integrally with the drive cam shaft 16 and the first cam plate 60 a is rotatably supported on the drive cam shaft 16 can be employed.

  Further, as the rotation operation device 96, various operation devices can be applied instead of the worm gear including the tooth portion 94a and the worm 96b.

  Further, the swing lever 52 provided with the cam follower 52a of the first cam plate 60a is used as a common swing lever, and the cam follower 52a (see FIG. 7) for the second cam plate 60b is used as the common swing lever 52. Can be provided. Instead of this example, the movable jaw 44 of the fixed gripper 24 can be provided in parallel with a swing lever 52 having one end engaged with the movable jaw and the other end provided with a cam follower 52a. In this case, the pair of swing levers 52 operate independently because cam followers 52a and 52a provided on the swing levers follow the first and second cam plates 60a and 60b, respectively.

  Finally, with reference mainly to FIGS. 1, 5, 6, and 10, the structure of the guide member 14 that enables the maximum opening amount of each gripper 22 and 24 to be adjusted and the mechanism for supporting the guide member on the frame 12 will be described. .

  As clearly shown in FIGS. 1 and 10, the guide member 14 that can adjust the maximum opening amount of each gripper 22 and 24 has eccentric shaft portions 14b formed at both ends of the main shaft portion 14a. In the illustrated example, the diameter D of the main shaft portion 14a is larger than the diameter d of the eccentric shaft portion 14b, and in the example shown in FIG. 10, a shift of δ is given to each center.

  Prior to the description of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 5, the principle of the up and down movement of the main shaft portion 14a of the guide member 14 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 10, the main shaft portion 14 a is received in the bearing hole 100, and the eccentric shaft portion 14 b is received in the bearing hole 102. The bearing hole 100 includes a pair of vertical edges 100a and 100a that are in contact with the main shaft portion at an interval substantially equal to the diameter D of the main shaft portion 14a, and a pair of horizontal edges 100b that are spaced apart from the diameter D of the main shaft portion 14a. 100b and a vertically long rectangular cross-sectional shape. On the other hand, the bearing hole 102 is in contact with the eccentric shaft portion at a distance substantially equal to the diameter d of the eccentric shaft portion 14b and a pair of vertical edges 102a and 102a that are spaced apart from the diameter d of the eccentric shaft portion 14b. It has a horizontally long rectangular cross section formed by a pair of horizontal edges 102b and 102b.

  The main shaft portion 14a and the eccentric shaft portion 14b are respectively received in the bearing inner holes 100 and 102, and the main shaft portion 14a is in contact with the lateral edge 100b below the bearing hole 100 as shown in FIG. It is assumed that the center C is located directly below the center c of the eccentric shaft portion 14b with an eccentric amount δ.

  In the state shown in FIG. 10, the main shaft portion 14a is restricted from being displaced in the lateral direction by the vertical edge 102a, but is allowed to move upward, while the eccentric shaft portion 14b is not displaced in the lateral direction. Although allowed, vertical displacement is restricted. Therefore, for example, when a clockwise rotational force is applied to the eccentric shaft portion 14b, the eccentric shaft portion 14b slips to the left and is displaced, and accordingly, the main shaft portion 14a slides upward in the drawing and is displaced. When the rotation angle of the eccentric shaft portion 14b is 180 degrees, the vertical relationship between the center C of the main shaft portion 14a and the center c of the eccentric shaft portion 14b is reversed and reaches the maximum value. Further, even when the rotational force is applied in the counterclockwise direction to the eccentric shaft portion 14b, the upward displacement of the main shaft portion 14a reaches the maximum value when the rotation angle is 180 degrees. That is, by rotating the eccentric shaft portion 14b clockwise or counterclockwise, the main shaft portion 14a can be displaced in the vertical direction, that is, in the vertical direction without being displaced in the lateral direction. The height position of the main shaft portion 14a can be raised from the position shown in the drawing by twice the amount of eccentricity δ (2δ).

  In order to utilize this principle, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the frame 12 has a longitudinally long bearing hole 100 similar to that described above for receiving the main shaft portion 14a of the guide member 14 as a bearing portion, and an eccentric shaft portion 14b. A horizontally long bearing hole 102 similar to that described above is formed.

  In the example shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the main shaft portion 14a and the eccentric shaft portion 14b are made of, for example, a synthetic resin material in order to reduce wear caused by friction with the bearing portions (100, 102) of the frame 12 that receives them. Friction reducing members 104 and 106 are used. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the bearing hole 100 receives the main shaft portion 14a via the friction reducing member 104 provided in the main shaft portion 14a. On the other hand, the bearing hole 102 receives the eccentric shaft portion 14b via a friction reducing member 106 provided in the eccentric shaft portion 14b.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the friction reducing member 104 for the main shaft portion 14a has a rectangular planar shape provided with a single opening 104a that rotatably receives the corresponding main shaft portion, and each of the main shaft portions 14a has a rectangular planar shape. Each end is received in a longitudinal bearing hole 100 via a respective friction reducing member 104. On the other hand, the friction reducing member 106 for the eccentric shaft portion 14b is formed by aligning a pair of openings 106a and 106a for receiving the eccentric shaft portions 14b of the pair of guide members 14 in a lateral direction. An elongated single friction reducing member 106. Therefore, the vertically long bearing hole 100 receives the friction reducing members 104 mounted on the respective ends of the main shaft portions 14a so as to be guided in the vertical direction, but the horizontally long bearing hole 102 has a pair of guides. The friction reducing member 106 attached to the pair of eccentric shaft portions is received so as to be guided in the lateral direction so as to receive the pair of eccentric shaft portions 14b at each end of the member 14.

  In order to adjust the height position of the pair of guide members 14 by applying a rotational force to the eccentric shaft portion 14b protruding from the frame 12, a height position adjusting mechanism 108 is provided on one side of the frame 12. . The height position adjusting mechanism 108 includes an operation shaft 108a rotatably supported on the frame 12 via a bearing 110, a pair of worms 108b provided on the operation shaft corresponding to the guide member 14, and a corresponding worm. A gear 108c fixed coaxially to the eccentric shaft portion is provided at the protruding end of the eccentric shaft portion 14b so as to mesh with the 108b.

  For example, by attaching a handle (not shown) to the operation shaft 108a and manually rotating the handle, both the worms 108b can be rotated in synchronization. By the synchronous rotation of both the worms 108b, both the eccentric shaft portions 14b positioned at one end of the pair of guide members 14 can be rotated around the central axis c. As a result of the synchronous rotation of the eccentric shaft portions 14b, the main shaft portions 14a of the pair of guide members 14 have a height equal to the double eccentric amount δ, as is apparent from the above, according to the operation amount of the handle described above. It moves up and down in the range and is held at the adjusted height position.

  This height adjustment does not affect the movement of the top dead center position and the bottom dead center position of the movable jaws 34, 44 of the transfer gripper 22 and the fixed gripper 24, and the sliding block 28 and the stationary block 40 are not affected. The height position, that is, the height position of the fixed jaws 32 and 42 corresponding to the movable jaws 34 and 44 supported by the respective blocks is changed. Therefore, the height position of the guide member 14 can be changed by operating the height position adjusting mechanism 108 described above, whereby the maximum opening amount of each gripper 22, 24 can be adjusted according to, for example, the thickness difference dimension of the material. become.

  Therefore, the maximum opening amount of each gripper 22, 24 can be adjusted without adding a spacer that increases the inertial force of the sliding block 28 of the transfer gripper 22, which is extremely advantageous for high-speed operation of the material feeding apparatus 10. .

  As described above, the example in which the height position adjusting mechanism 108 is manually operated has been described. However, for example, an electric motor can be provided as a rotational drive source for the operation shaft 108a. By automatically controlling the operation of the electric motor according to the thickness of the material, it is possible to automatically adjust the maximum opening amount of the transfer gripper so as to be optimal according to the thickness of the material.

  According to the present invention, as described above, since the support position of the static support shaft 86 of the link member 80 can be adjusted by the adjusting mechanism 82, the transfer gripper can be operated without interrupting the operation of the material feeding apparatus 10. The swing angle of the link member 80 that determines the reciprocating stroke of the 22 sliding blocks 28 can be adjusted. Therefore, the stroke of the transfer gripper 22 can be adjusted without interrupting the operation of the material feeding device 10 and without interrupting the processing machine due to the interruption of the material feeding device.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and the present invention can be applied to material supply to various machines and intermittent feeding of materials in addition to processing machines. .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Material feeder 12 Frame 14 Guide member 14a Main shaft part 14b Eccentric shaft part 16 Drive cam shaft 22 Transfer gripper 24 Fixed gripper 28 Sliding block 30 First actuator 32, 42 Fixed jaw 34, 44 Movable jaw 36 Second Actuator 40 Stationary block 46 Third actuator 50 Oscillating shaft 52, 68 Oscillating lever 56, 72 Biasing member (compression spring)
60a, 60b First and second cam plates 78 Oscillating member 80 Link member 82, 92 Adjustment mechanism 84 Link shaft 86 Support shaft 90 Bifurcated portion 92a-92c First to third gears (bevel gears)
94 Sleeve member 94a Sleeve member tooth portion 94b Sleeve member support portion (flat region)
94c Rotating shaft of sleeve member 96 Rotating operation device 100, 102 Bearing hole (bearing portion)
104, 106 Friction reducing member 108 Height position adjusting mechanism 108a Operation shaft 108b Worm 108c Gear

Claims (5)

A sliding block movable along the material conveying path, an actuator for reciprocating the sliding block along the conveying path, a fixed jaw fixedly supported by the sliding block, and the sliding A material feeding device including a transfer gripper supported by a moving block and provided with a movable jaw that operates to clamp and release the material in cooperation with the fixed jaw in synchronization with the reciprocating motion of the sliding block. And
The actuating device is:
An oscillating member having an oscillating shaft arranged in a direction perpendicular to the conveying path, and having a cam groove extending in the radial direction of the oscillating shaft on an oscillating surface perpendicular to the oscillating shaft;
A link member provided at one end with a link shaft arranged in parallel to the swing shaft and a support shaft at the other end provided with a support shaft parallel to the swing shaft. In order to reciprocate the sliding block along the conveyance path, one end of the link shaft is engaged with the cam groove so that the other end of the link shaft is guided by the cam groove, and the other end of the link shaft is the sliding block. A link member engaged with
An adjustment mechanism that adjustably moves the support shaft toward and away from the swing shaft, and the adjustment mechanism includes a feed screw mechanism having a female screw member that supports the support shaft. apparatus.   The adjustment mechanism includes a male screw member whose rotation axis is arranged along a virtual line connecting the swing shaft and the support shaft, and the female screw member screwed into the male screw member, and the support shaft is the female screw The material feeder according to claim 1, which is supported by a member.   The rotation axis of the male screw member extends in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance path, and the support shaft is disposed so that the axis is perpendicular to both the conveyance path and the extension direction of the rotation axis of the male screw member. 2. The material feeding device according to 2.   4. The material feeding device according to claim 3, wherein the adjustment mechanism includes a ball screw provided with a holder portion for holding a rolling ball between the male screw member and the female screw member.   The link member includes a first bearing portion that accommodates the link shaft so that both ends of the link shaft can protrude, and an arm portion that protrudes in a radial direction of the bearing portion from a substantially central portion of the bearing portion. A second bearing portion parallel to the first bearing portion is formed at the tip of the first screw shaft, and the female screw member is provided with a bifurcated portion for receiving both ends of the second bearing portion and supporting both ends of the support shaft. The material feeder according to claim 4, wherein

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